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Over the Rainbow

The shortest perspective you can have is the close-up view of life as the minutes tick by. This week I was in the middle of a big project when my friend called me to take her to the doctors office. I thought, “OK, No big deal. This will only take me 30 minutes.” As I was helping her out of the car, her arm hit the power locks. I shut the door and was immediately locked out of my vehicle. I sat and waited for a locksmith for an hour. I was counting the minutes and it was aggravating.

Double Rainbow

The longest perspective you can have is one that includes eternity. If this life is preparation for eternity then lots of little things don’t really matter. The song, “Somewhere Over the Rainbow”, is about how dreams really do come true. When your dreams come true you’ll find your perspective of the trials of life is different. “Someday I’ll wish upon a star and wake up where the clouds are far behind me,” sings Dorothy.

Everyone looks at life differently. Homesteaders who immigrated to America saw both limitless possibilities and endless prairie. Those who saw possibility got to work. The rest kept on moving. Their hearts probably sank when they saw the deserts of Nevada and Arizona. Luckily the promise of the west coast was still ahead. Some people look at trouble as a challenge and they overcome. Others look at trouble and sink into despair. It’s all about perspective.

The longer your perspective, the easier trials become. The minutes fly by instead of dragging by. This is not to minimize the reality of pain but to say that there are lots of possibilities when you take the long view. The Bible is a book about the long view. It isn’t a book of impossible happiness but a book about being happy despite temporary trouble.

I’ve always had my head in the clouds. Sometimes its a weakness because I ignore mundane things like dishes. Other times it is exhilarating. I’ve also experienced heartache and pain. I know how easy it is to get caught up in the day to day. I’ve also experienced the end of some trials and been able to see them as clouds behind me. I’ve learned that life is sweeter when I can appreciate freedom, health, and happiness because I’ve seen their opposite.

Lightening over Brisbane

The blessing of perspective is that the importance of things like grades, bills and even illness fade when compared with God, family, and a clear conscience.